1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a melt-spinning apparatus for producing syhthetic fibers. More particularly, the present invention relates to a melt-spinning apparatus which is usable for producing synthetic fibers from a single polymer component or a plurality of polymer components. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a melt-spinning apparatus for producing synthetic fibers, in which apparatus at least one melt spinning pack having at least one polymer melt inlet can be connected to a beam block for holding the melt-spinning pack while protecting the polymer melt inlet from damage, and a polymer melt passage from at least one polymer melter to the melt-spinning pack can be easily cleaned.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known that a conventional melt-spinning apparatus for producing synthetic fibers includes a melter in which polymer chips are melted and from which the polymer melt is extruded, a metering pumps into which the extruded polymer melt is distributed through a conduit, a pump block to which the metering pump and the conduit are connected, a conduit for introducing the metered polymer melt into a melt-spinning pack, a heating box for heating the conduits and pack at a desired temperature, and a housing for containing therein the above-mentioned pump block, heating box, and melt-spinning pack. The above-mentioned elements contained in the housing are directly or indirectly heated to a desired temperature by heating liquid or heating vapor contained in the heating box.
Recently, many different types of synthetic fibers are demanded and produced in small amounts. Also, special types of fibers, having special properties, PG,3 for example, special blended polymer fibers or composite fibers, are demanded. In order to respond to the various demands, apparatus for producing the synthetic fibers should be able to be easily used for various purposes. When the type of the polymer to be fed into the melt-spinning apparatus is changed, it is sometimes necessary to completely clean out the passages of the polymer melt before a different type of polymer is fed thereinto.
In a conventional melt-spinning apparatus, sometimes the passages of the polymer melt from the polymer melter to the melt-spinning pack are fixed completely or partly non-detachably to the heating box. Otherwise, the melt-spinning apparatus has a complicated structure and it is difficult to detach and assemble the apparatus on site. Accordingly, the polymer melt passages are usually cleaned out by diluting and replacing the remaining polymer melt in the passages by another polymer melt. This cleaning process entails a large amount of the polymer and long period of time, decreasing the operational efficiency of the apparatus and increasing the cost of the resultant products.
In the structure of a conventional melt-spinning apparatus, the melt-spinning pack is inserted into a heating-box type housing from the top or bottom thereof. This type of melt-spinning apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication (Kokoku) Nos. 51-27772, 47-17727, 52-17127, and 43-8974.
Recently, a new type of melt-spinning pack which is capable of producing a plurality of filament yarns has been developed. This type of melt-spinning pack is a large size or is very long. This large or long melt-spinning pack cannot be set into the heating-box type housing by human operators alone, but requires a special machine.
In a special type of melt-spinning apparatus for producing synthetic composite fibers consisting of a plurality of different polymers, the melt-spinning pack has a large height. This type of melt-spinning pack also can be set into the housing only by machine power.
Machine power is used for setting the melt-spinning pack for other reasons as well, for example, a desire to reduce the heavy manual labor of the workers.
In a usual setting operation for the melt-spinning pack, the pack is preliminarily heated to a slightly higher temperature than the desired spinning temperature within a heater, is removed from the heater just before the insertion operation, and is then set into the heating-box type housing. In order to start the melt-spinning operation as soon as possible after the setting operation is completed, it is necessary to make the decrease of the temperature of the melt-spinning pack during the setting operation as small as possible. For this purpose, the setting operation should be completed as fast as possible by using machine power.
As shown in Japanese Examined Patent Publication (Kokoku) No. 43-8974, a melt-spinning pack having a polymer melt inlet located on a side surface of the pack is combined with a polymer melt outlet formed on an inside side surface of a pack receiving-chamber in such a manner that the polymer melt inlet of the melt-spinning pack is fluidtightly connected to the polymer melt outlet of the pack receiving-chamber. The fluidtight connection is usually attained by placing a gasket between the polymer melt inlet and outlet. In the setting operation, the gasket is usually placed around the polymer melt inlet of the melt-spinning pack, and the melt-spinning pack is inserted upward into the pack receiving-chamber. It is important that the setting operation be carried out as fast as possible while protecting the the polymer melt inlet from undesirable contact with the inside side surface of the pack receiving-chamber even when the setting operation is carried out by machine power. Also, it is important that the polymer melt inlet of the melt-spinning pack be precisely positioned on and fluidtightly connected to the polymer melt-outlet of the pack receiving-chamber, without undesirable removal, slippage, or damage of the polymer melt inlet, by pressing or pushing the inserted melt-spinning pack toward the inside side surface of the pack receiving-chamber. Furthermore, it is important that the melt-spinning pack can be easily detached from the pack receiving-chamber. Still further, it is important that even if the setting operation is carried out by nonskilled manpower, the operation can be easily carried out without difficulty.